Alyssandra stood atop the Spire's ruins, the Crown's core fused to her chest. Kaelen lay unconscious below, his Nullborn mark dimming.
*"Now you see,"* the Maw purred. *"The throne is yours. The Nullborn is *ours*."*
She knelt, her human hand brushing his scarred cheek. "I won't let you take him."
The Crown's laughter echoed. *"You already have."*
---
**Kaelen's Awakening**
Kaelen woke to Alyssandra's dragon eye inches from his face.
"You're alive," he rasped.
Her smile was fractured. "For now."
The Crown's core pulsed, and Kaelen's vision blurred—a flash of Seraphine, chained in a dungeon, her voice a whisper: *"The Nullborn's blood is the key… but not to *save* her."*
Alyssandra's mark flared. "What did you see?"
"Nothing," he lied.
---
**The Hunt**
They trekked through the Spire's remains, the Crown's core guiding Alyssandra.
*"Deeper,"* the Maw urged. *"Find the vault."*
Kaelen's dagger trembled in his grip. "This feels like a trap."
"It *is* a trap," Alyssandra snapped. "But we're already inside it."
The walls shifted, revealing a hidden stairway. Kaelen's wolves growled, their fur standing on end.
---
**The Vault**
The vault's door bore Alyssandra's mother's seal—a shattered hourglass.
Alyssandra's blood opened it. Inside, a mirror stood, its surface swirling with mercury. Kaelen's reflection aged decades, then reverted.
*"Touch it,"* the Maw hissed.
Alyssandra hesitated. Kaelen stepped forward. "I'll go first."
His palm met the glass. The mirror screamed.
---
**The Vision**
Kaelen's mind shattered.
He stood in a timeline where Alyssandra never existed. The Dominion was a wasteland, the Maw's voice in every grain of sand. A figure approached—himself, older, eyes hollow.
*"You failed her,"* Future Kaelen said. *"The Crown consumed the worlds."*
Alyssandra's voice cut through: *"That's not *our* future!"*
The mirror cracked. Kaelen collapsed, gasping.
---
**The Betrayal**
Seraphine emerged from the shadows, her wolves charred and eyes blackened.
"You shouldn't have come," she told Kaelen.
Alyssandra's dragon form erupted. "You're *alive*."
"Alive?" Seraphine laughed. "I'm the Maw's vessel. Just like you."
Kaelen's dagger flew. Seraphine caught it, her grip melting the blade. "Still naive, boy."
---
**The Truth**
"The Crown isn't a weapon," Seraphine said. "It's a *prison*. For the Maw… and its mate."
Alyssandra's mark burned. "Mate?"
"You." Seraphine's smile was cruel. "The Maw chose you before you were born. Kaelen's blood oath? A farce. The Nullborn are its *food*."
Kaelen's voice shook. "You're lying."
"Am I?" Seraphine raised a hand. The vault's walls dissolved, revealing thousands of frozen heirs—all Alyssandra's ancestors, their bodies crystallized.
---
**The Choice**
Alyssandra's dragon wings snapped open. "Why show us this?"
"Because you're *stronger*," Seraphine hissed. "Break the oath. Let the Maw feast on him. *Rule*."
Kaelen's Nullborn mark flared. "Don't listen. She's baiting you."
Alyssandra's hand trembled. The Crown's core pulsed, urging her to strike.
*"Choose,"* the Maw whispered.
---
**The Twist**
Alyssandra's claws sank into Seraphine's chest.
But instead of blood, sand poured out. Seraphine dissolved into a Sandreaver hybrid, its mercury tongue laughing.
*"Clever girl,"* the Maw praised. *"But not clever enough."*
Kaelen's wolves surrounded them, their eyes glowing blue. *"Run,"* one growled. *"The vault's a lie."*
---
**The Escape**
Alyssandra grabbed Kaelen, shifting into dragon form.
They burst through the vault's ceiling, the Spire crumbling behind them. The Crown's core burned hotter, feeding on her rage.
"Where's Seraphine?" Kaelen demanded.
Alyssandra's voice was raw. "She's gone. The Maw's been inside her all along."
Kaelen's dagger glowed faintly. "Then we find the *real* her."
---
**The Hook**
Alyssandra's dragon eye flickered—showing a new vision: Seraphine, alive, standing at the Chronos Maw's heart.
*"Bring the Nullborn,"* the Maw hissed. *"Or she dies."*
Kaelen's grip tightened. "We're not bargaining with a god."
Alyssandra's smile was venomous. "Good. Because I'm not asking."